What is Vodafone?

As one of the three major players in the mobile market, Vodafone has a strong foothold in the Australian telecommunications space. Established in 1993, the joint venture between the Vodafone Group and Hutchinson Telecommunications services approximately 5.7 million Aussies across the country, both through its 4G mobile network and its recently launched fixed-line service via the NBN.

Vodafone's NBN plans

Launched in December 2017, Vodafone's NBN service is currently available only in select regions of the country, including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Geelong, Newcastle and Wollongong. The service will expand to cover the rest of Australia throughout 2018, and you can use Vodafone's address checker to see whether it has reached your area yet.

For Aussies living in regions eligible for its NBN service, Vodafone offers three main Internet plans. Each comes with unlimited monthly data and operates on a no-lock-in month-to-month contract.

On top of the monthly fee, Vodafone requires that you purchase its Wi-Fi hub to use its NBN service. The total cost for this modem is $180, but this cost is split into $5/month installments. If you commit to a full 36 months from the get-go, Vodafone will waive the monthly modem fee. Should you cancel before the 36 months is up, however, you'll have to pay out the cost of the modem in full.

It's important to note that, unlike some telcos, Vodafone does not include a telephony component with its NBN plans. If you're after a landline service, you'll need to purchase a separate VoIP plan from another provider to make calls over your Vodafone NBN connection.

Name

Speed tier

Price

Vodafone NBN Essential Unlimited $58 25/5 Mbps 1 Month

Standard (nbn25)

$58/month

Vodafone NBN Essential+ Unlimited $69 50/20 Mbps 1 Month

Standard Plus (nbn50)

$69/month

Vodafone NBN Premium Unlimited $89 100/40 Mbps 1 Month

Premium (nbn100)

$89/month

How do Vodafone's NBN plans compare?

Vodafone's strength in the mobile space gives it a unique edge over many other NBN providers. When signing up for an NBN plan, there's typically a wait period while the necessary infrastructure and equipment is installed. To offset this, Vodafone provides all its NBN customers with free access to its 4G mobile network while the installation process is ongoing, eliminating the Internet downtime common to other providers.

Similarly, Vodafone's 4G network can act as a backup in the event of disruptions to your NBN service. If your NBN connection goes down for any reason, you'll still be able to access the Internet through Vodafone's mobile network while the issue is being resolved.

Customers who are already with Vodafone for their postpaid mobile or mobile broadband service receive additional inclusions for signing onto Vodafone's NBN service. Depending on the chosen plan, these existing customers get up to 3GB of bonus data every month for use with their mobile service.

On a straight dollars-to-data basis, here's how Vodafone's three main plans compare to other NBN plans on the market.

Why should you consider Vodafone for your NBN connection?

With some customers experiencing dropouts and connection issues on new NBN installations, it's understandable that many Aussies are concerned about paying for an Internet service that might not always be available. Vodafone sidesteps this issue by offering its 4G mobile network as a backup, ensuring that customers remain online even when the infrastructure fails them.

There's also little penalty in trying out Vodafone's NBN services to see whether they meet your needs. Like it does with its mobile plans, Vodafone offers a network-satisfaction guarantee to all its NBN customers, with the option to cancel your service within 30 days for a full refund if it doesn't live up to your expectations.

Matt is a writer covering the latest tech, telco and video game news at finder.com.au. In his downtime from helping Aussies make informed decisions on their broadband, mobile phone, and streaming video plans, he likes exploring rich video game worlds and kicking back with a good book.

Disclaimer - Hive Empire Pty Ltd (trading as finder.com.au, ABN: 18 118 785 121) provides factual information, general advice and services on financial products as a Corporate Authorised Representative (432664) of Advice Evolution Pty Ltd AFSL 342880. Please refer to our FSG - Financial Products. We also provide general advice on credit products under our own Credit Licence ACL 385509. Please refer to our Credit Guide for more information. We can also provide you with general advice and factual information on about a range of other products, services and providers. We are also a Corporate Authorised Representative of Countrywide Tolstrup Financial Services Group Pty Ltd. ABN 51 586 953 292 AFSL 244436 for the provision of general insurance products. Please refer to our FSG - General Insurance. We hope that the information and general advice we can provide will help you make a more informed decision. We are not owned by any Bank or Insurer and we are not a product issuer or a credit provider. Although we cover a wide range of products, providers and services we don't cover every product, provider or service available in the market so there may be other options available to you. We also don't recommend specific products, services or providers. If you decide to apply for a product or service through our website you will be dealing directly with the provider of that product or service and not with us. We endeavour to ensure that the information on this site is current and accurate but you should confirm any information with the product or service provider and read the information they can provide. If you are unsure you should get independent advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan. (c) 2018.

Thank you for your feedback.

Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.

Important information about this website

finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of major banks, insurers and product issuers.

finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product. You should consider whether the products featured on our site are appropriate for your needs and seek independent advice if you have any questions.

Products marked as 'Promoted' or "Advertisement" are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options and find the best option for you.

The identification of a group of products, as 'Top' or 'Best' is a reflection of user preferences based on current website data. On a regular basis, analytics drive the creation of a list of popular products. Where these products are grouped, they appear in no particular order.

Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment.

We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.

Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.

Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.

Please read our website terms of use for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.